Appliance for treatment of disease.



PATENTED JUNE 14, 1904.

7 E. A. LEARMAN. APPLIANCE FOR TREATMENT OF DISEASES.

APPLIOATION FILED AUG. 18, 1902.

' N0 MODEL.

Q 6/ INVENTOI? ix A from/HS.

SMJQ QT Patented June 14, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

ELEANOR A. LEARMAN, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO.

APPLIANCE FOR TREATMENT OF DISEASE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 762,643, dated June 14, 1904.

Application filed August 18, 1902. Serial No. 120,127. (No model.)

To (all whmn it may concern:

Be it known that I, ELEANOR A. LEARMAN, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Cleveland, in the county of Guyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Appliances for Treatment of Disease; and I hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and usethe same.

This invention relates to improvements in appliances for utilizing medicated air, steam, or vapor, and more especially to an appliance of this character adapted for the treatment of diseases and weaknesses peculiar to women.

One object of this invention is to provide an appliance of this character by means of which treatment can be taken at all times without fatigue or inconvenience and such that a patient can also avail herself of the treatment even when in a very weak or debilitated condition.

Another object of my invention is to provide means whereby a patient can avail herself of treatment by means of a douche while in a recumbent position.

A further object of my invention is to provide an appliance of this character which can easily be kept clean and in a sanitary condiceptacle having a large bottom area, a sheet rim.

6 represents a sheet of canvas or similar material, at predetermined points along the sides and ends of which I form a series of eyelets 0, preferably in a double row. These eyelets are bound with brass or in any suitable way to prevent the material of the sheet from giving or tearing at these points.

0 represents my device for securing the sheet of canvas to the sides of the tub. This device consists of a strip of iron or similar material bent upon itself at both ends in the same direction, so as to form two hooks and 0 respectively. The hook c is arranged .to engage with the flange around the rim of bath-tub. The hook c is smaller than the hook c and is adapted to be inserted in one of the eyelets c. In the drawings I have shown the sheet supported by eight of these devices; but of course more or less of these devices can be used, according to the dimension of the sheet and the strength of the material. A little below the center of the sheet I form an opening d, preferably a diamondshaped opening. This opening d is bound in a suitable manner to prevent the sheet I) from tearing at this point. Near the top of the sheet 6 I secure a pillow e, which I have shown as composed of two sections secured together at their respective edges and also to the canvas. This arrangement allows one half of the pillow to be folded back on the half above or the half above to be folded down on the lower half so as to accommodate the location of the pillow to the head of the party using the appliance.

The operation and use of my device is as follows: The tub a is first filled with hot water, and the sheet is then secured across the top of the tub by the device 0. The hooks 0 are preferably secured in the inner row of eyelets, so that the edge of the sheet will lap on the flange of the tub. All the steam and vapor rising from the comparatively large surface of Water in the tub must pass through the opening (Z and will therefore come in contact with the affected parts before it becomes cooled or mixed with the surrounding air. In cases where it is necessary or desirable to use a douche my appliance is most serviceable; as the douche can be used While the patient is in a recumbent attitude,

which not only lessens the fatigue of the treatment, but also facilitates the use of the douche and increases its efficiency. All the waste drains directly through the opening in the center of the sheet without causing the least inconvenience.

I am aware that appliances have been made for this purpose, such as rubber bed-pans; but these have proved ineffective in many cases and are always troublesome and hard to manage. WVhen using my device, the patient can lie on the sheet as comfortably as in bed and can undergo the treatment for any length of time without fatigue or weariness, which is quite an object in an appliance of this character, for in certain cases the treatment must be continued for a considerable length of time before the inflammation subsides and the contracted parts relax and resume their normal functions.

If for any reason it is advisable to allow some of the steam or vapor to escape between the edges of the canvas and the sides of the tub, it can be accomplished by securing the hooks c" in the outer row of eyelets. It will also readily be seen that when my appliance is not in use it may be easily disengaged from the tub and packed away on a shelf or in a drawer. Also when the canvas sheet becomes soiled the hooks may be removed therefrom and the sheet laundried in the usual manner.

\Vhat 1 claim is An appliance for the treatment of disease consisting of a sheet of canvas having a central opening therein and provided with two rows of eyelet-holes around its edge, hooks each detachably connected at one end to said eyelet-holes and their outer ends adapted to engage the flange or rim of a bath-tub for holding said canvas above the Water-line in the bath-tub, and a head-rest secured to the canvas, said appliance designed to be detachably connected to an ordinary bath-tub for giving steam or vapor baths, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I sign the foregoing specification, in the presence of two witnesses, this 14th day of August, 1902, at Cleveland,

Ohio.

ELEANOR A. LEARMAN. l/Vitn'esses:

VICTOR G. LYNCH, G. M. HAYus. 

